“The Last Question,” by Isaac Asimov (8 Ways to Sunday)

“The Last Question,” by Isaac Asimov

Filed under “Web Links,” “Writing,” “Spirituality & Philosophy,” and “Science & Technology”
by Adam at 5:52 AM on February 9, 2006

7 Comments

Asimov believed “The Last Question” to be the best short story he ever wrote. Now you can read it online, without even having to make a trip to the library.

The last question was asked for the first time, half in jest, on May 21, 2061, at a time when humanity first stepped into the light. The question came about as a result of a five-dollar bet over highballs, and it happened this way…

This story is the epitome of high-concept “hard” science fiction. The narrative spans a few trillion years of human history in about 4,500 words and pursues big answers to the big questions. That it can do this without alienating or boring less scientifically-minded readers is a testament to Asimov’s skill. Along the way it touches on the concepts of transhumanism and posthumanism, but its ultimate target is much larger and more impressive.

The central premise of the story — humanity invents an artificially intelligent machine capable of solving its thorniest problems, but the biggest problem of all proves insoluble time and again — is a set up for an ending with more punch than almost anything else in the genre.

“Ask Multivac.”

“You ask Multivac. I dare you. Five dollars says it can’t be done.”

Adell was just drunk enough to try…

You owe it to yourself to read this story.

(Props: Backwards City)

Updates

2/9/2006 @ 6:00 AM — If the link to the story isn’t working for you, try this copy from Google’s cache.

Technorati Tags for This Post

Asimov, science fiction, writing, short stories, transhumanism, posthumanism, artificial intelligence

Adam is a web developer and graphic designer who lives and works in south-central Kansas. He likes to speak his mind, both here and in his business blog. He only rarely writes about himself in the third person, honest. If you’d like to work with Adam, drop him a line.

I read the story nice one, have you read nightfall by asimov? thanks for the online copy of the story, himadri

Comment by himadri — November 5, 2006 @ 6:27 am

I haven’t read “Nightfall,” but I have heard of it. Sound like an interesting story. I’ll have to get my hands on it one of these days.

Comment by Adam Messinger — November 5, 2006 @ 11:45 am

time,,matter makes time .. to .. please answer somthing

Comment by rick — April 3, 2007 @ 12:48 am

I’m not sure what you’re asking, Rick. Could you be more specific?

Comment by Adam Messinger — April 3, 2007 @ 9:22 pm

this was a fantastic read. So thought provoking. Does anyone know if asimov was religious?

Comment by stuart — May 11, 2007 @ 1:28 pm

According to this essay, Asimov wasn’t hostile to religion but vehemently argued against fundamentalism. He was, himself, an atheist.

Comment by Adam Messinger — May 11, 2007 @ 5:52 pm

Thanks for making this story available. I was trying to remember the wording just before the famous punch line. Sadly, my memory is fast failing me. So I went in search of one of my copies of “Nine Tomorrows.” I could not find one. (This is what happens when you share a small house with over 6,000 books.)

The good doctor may have considered this the best short story he ever wrote, but he was being too modest. (Now that’s hard to believe!) It was, and still is, the greatest science fiction short story ever written.

Comment by Paul — October 26, 2007 @ 8:04 pm

8 Ways to Sunday